Opinion

Cost of Preterm Births

February 16, 2014

To the Editor:

Re “Facing Criticism After Remarks, AOL Chief Reverses 401(k) Changes” (Business Day, Feb. 10): You report on a controversy at AOL in which its chief executive, Tim Armstrong, singled out the high medical expenses of two employee families with “distressed babies” as contributing to a change in the 401(k) benefit program and then reversed himself after an outcry.

Premature birth is not a rare event in the United States. In 2012, 11.5 percent of nearly four million births were premature, and the United States has the highest rate among developed countries. Severe health complications often ensue, requiring expensive medical interventions.

The Institute of Medicine estimates the yearly societal cost of preterm birth to our country at $26 billion. A recent March of Dimes study found that employers pay an average of 12 times more for a premature birth than for a healthy, full-term birth.

Employers have a critical role to play in the prevention of preterm births by understanding their claims data, encouraging wellness programs and ensuring that their insurance plans include the right mix of benefits and incentives.

These approaches, combined with community programs and hospital quality improvement initiatives, have led to declines in the preterm birthrate in each of the last six years.

Through our Prematurity Prevention Campaign, the March of Dimes aims to continue this progress and to uncover the remaining unknown causes through research.